


Core

by HorrendousHag



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Gen, Ghost Cores (Danny Phantom), Just a bit of fun, Orb, ectoberweek2020, not much going on here tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:26:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HorrendousHag/pseuds/HorrendousHag
Summary: Danny woke up one morning and could feel his heartbeat.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Frostbite, Danny Fenton & Maddie Fenton
Comments: 6
Kudos: 105





	Core

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick thing I wrote up for Ectober to give myself a break from drawing! I had no idea where I was going with it haha, just kinda wrote whatever came to mind. Enjoy!

Danny woke up one morning and could feel his heartbeat.

It wasn’t quite something he could hear—a sound just out of reach, the usual thump-thump with an underlying ringing that sang of something else and made him restless in his skin.

When he finally summoned forth the energy to sit up, he looked down at his chest. There was a white light glowing through his shirt.

 _Excuse me?_ he thought simply.

He pulled back his collar to get a better look; it didn’t appear to be much different this way—it was just shining through his skin instead, highlighting veins and bones. It was round. And soft. And cold. It pulsed in tandem with his heart, and even though it looked abnormal and definitely was, it felt as natural as any body part. He didn’t think it actually was a body part, though.

He hid himself under his comforter and when his mom came to wake him up for school, he played sick. She fussed over him, told him his skin was clammy—but it always was these days—and after he convinced her he was able to take care of himself just fine, she left to run some errands.

“Your father can’t live a single day without fudge,” she sighed. “I also need to pick up parts from the hardware store, and I’m meeting Tucker’s mom for lunch. You sure you don’t need anything?”

“I’m sure, Mom,” Danny reassured her for the seventh time in as many minutes. “And if I have to, Dad’s always here as a last resort.”

“All right, feel better sweetie.” She kissed the top of his head, deaf to his protests that she could get sick too, and then left.

Danny waited until the distinctive roar of the Fenton Ghost Assault vehicle had broken their neighborhood’s peaceful ambiance and faded from hearing, and then he transformed. The glowing spot in his chest tingled and its temperature dropped a few degrees. The sensation spread down his torso and through his legs, down his arms, up his face—he could even feel it in the tips of his hair, though he was pretty sure people didn’t have nerves there. It settled into a pleasant background hum, and he floated up off his bed.

“Right,” he muttered. “That’s weird.” After flickering both invisible and intangible, he descended through the two floors separating him from the basement. He peeked his head into the lab first, noting his dad tinkering with something at his usual table. The portal was open beyond that, swirling green and luminescent. Perfect.

Certain that his dad was suitably distracted, he floated down to the portal and slipped through without a sound. Piece of cake.

He glided through the Ghost Zone with equal care, giving a wide berth to Skulker’s island and Walker’s prison, and once he reached an area he deemed safe, he took off. It didn’t take long to reach the Far Frozen this way.

The yetis welcomed him back with as much exuberance and enthusiasm as ever (which was a surprising amount considering how many times he’d embarrassed himself in front of them) and was quickly ushered to Frostbite’s dwelling.

“Danny!” Frostbite greeted him with a sharp grin. “It is an honor to see you again. How can the Far Frozen be of assistance to you today?”

Danny drifted to a seat across Frostbite’s tiny table. “Uh, yeah, I was hoping you could explain something to me?” He transformed back into Fenton, and the glow returned. “Do you know what this—” he gestured vaguely to his chest— “is? Because it just showed up this morning and I have no idea where it came from. Is it a new ability or something?”

“Hm.” Frostbite leaned closer. “Not quite. It would appear your core is making itself known in your human half.”

Danny blinked and looked down. “Wait, like my ghostly core? Why?”

“I cannot say.” Frostbite leaned back again. “You are already very unusual. It could be that you are becoming more ghostly—”

Danny flinched.

“—Or perhaps it is just… asking for attention.”

“Attention.”

Frostbite shrugged. It was an enormous motion on someone as large as he was. “Your being is split. It may be that it demands to spend equal time with either half—for balance, you might say.”

“Huh.” Danny crossed his arms. “Well. That doesn’t make any sense to me at all.”

Frostbite laughed. “It is what it is, young lord. I recommend you spend a few more hours in your Phantom form. If the glowing remains, come see me again and we’ll see what we can do about it.”

“All right, thanks Frostbite.” Danny transformed again and floated back out of his chair. “I’ll come visit soon. Uh, unrelated to the core thing.”

“That is wonderful to hear,” Frostbite said. “Have a safe journey.”

“You too. I mean—you know.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck. “Seeya later.” And with that awkwardly said, Danny flew back out into the Zone.


End file.
